Think about golf, and your thoughts might gravitate toward warm, sunny climes where people retire to spend their days on the links.
There’s a reason for that. Florida has the most golf courses at 1,262, according to the National Golf Foundation. The Professional Golfers’ Association is headquartered in Texas.
But Gov. Josh Shapiro thinks there is a reason for Pennsylvania to claim the crown of “golf capital of the United States.”
Sure, he was at Oakmont Country Club at the time. Oakmont is hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time right now. But there are numbers to support Shapiro’s statement as more than a little light athletic pandering.
With the help of those 10 U.S. Opens at Oakmont, Pennsylvania has hosted the most United States Golf Association championships at 95. That’s more than California’s 94, despite California having more than 250 more golf courses than the Keystone State.
Pennsylvania also has history. While the first golf course in America was in Georgia, Pennsylvania has the oldest continually operating course at Foxburg Country Club in Clarion County.
“Golf is huge business here in Pennsylvania. It’s a great opportunity for recreation,” Shapiro said. “And I would say it’s also a great opportunity to find ways to bring people together in these hyper-polarized times. We’ve got to find ways to communicate and talk and work together, and that’s exactly what golf is able to do.”
The sport is a significant money maker, driving $6.3 billion in the Pennsylvania economy. Compare that to the $1.2 billion generated by hunting, a sport heavily identified with the state’s deer-filled woodlands.
The USGA estimates a $200 million return on the U.S. Open alone. Experts told TribLive that is an overly optimistic number.
“Rule of thumb: Never believe a sports sponsor,” said Victor Matheson, an economic professor at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
Even if the dollar figures are less than a hole-in-one, it’s still worth appreciating the impact. While the tournament may bring in millions of dollars, so can golf over the rest of the year. Oakmont will benefit from being identified yet again with the U.S. Open, and other golf courses in the area may see an uptick in people who become interested in taking up the sport.
That is particularly likely today. There may be thousands of people at Oakmont watching the stars putting and driving, but on Father’s Day there also will be thousands more scattered across hundreds of courses in Pennsylvania.
Is Pennsylvania the golf capital of the country? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s definitely just a chip shot away if it isn’t.